English
unloose
Unloose comes from Middle English unlosen ‘to loosen, untie’, from los ‘free’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewH- ‘to separate’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewH-‘to separate’root as named · steps between not traced
- Old Norsec. 800–1350lauss‘loose’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500los‘free’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500unlosen‘to loosen, untie’
- Englishearliest quotation 1591unloose
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewH-‘to separate’root as named · steps between not traced
- Old Norsec. 800–1350lauss‘loose’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500los‘free’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500unlosen‘to loosen, untie’
- Englishearliest quotation 1591unloose
Earliest quotation: 1591, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “Then Yorke vnlooſe thy long impriſoned thoughts, / And…”
Proto-Indo-European *n̥- ‘not, un-’
Proto-Germanic *un- ‘not, un-’
Proto-West Germanic *un- ‘not, un-’
English un-
Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- ‘to cut, untie, loosen’
…
Proto-Germanic *leusaną ‘to lose’
Proto-Germanic *lausaz ‘loose’
Old Norse lauss ‘loose, free’
Middle English loos ‘loose, free’
English loose
The story
The English word is analysable as un- (intensifying prefix) + loose.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *lewH- ‘to separate’
through Middle English los ‘free’
Today it means
verb To loosen or undo (something that entangles, fastens, holds, or interlocks).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *lewH- / unloose